Women on Wednesday: Orange Prize

The Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes. It is awarded annually (usually in June) for the best original full-length novel by a female author of any nationality, written in English and published in the England and/or Ireland in the preceding year. The winner of the prize receives £30,000, along with a 7.5 inch bronze sculpture called the "Bessie" created by artist Grizel Niven.

A relatively young prize, Orange Prize for Fiction honored its first winner in 1996. The founders of the Orange Prize for Fiction (including Kate Mosse) were concerned that many of the most significant literary prizes often appeared to overlook writing by women. To that end, only female authors are eligible for the prize and the competition is judged exclusively by women. The longlist for the prize is usually announced in March and the shortlist in April.

The first Orange of Oranges Prize (a take on the Booker of Bookers Prize) was awarded Andrea Levy for her novel Small Island in 2005 in celebration of the Orange Prize for Fiction's tenth anniversary. Also christened in 2005 was the Orange Award for New Writers with a £10,000 award.

- Posted as part of Women on Wednesday

Women on Wednesday

I'm really keen to participate in the the new weekly meme that my friend Susan is starting on her Rocks 'n Reads blog, Women on Wednesday. This post explains it all, but here's the gist: Every Wednesday, write about a book you loved that’s written by a woman. Celebrate a woman author whose books you love. Talk about a book you’re dying to read.

Today is the perfect day to start as it is the birthday of a certain Margaret Atwood. Canadian writer Atwood turns 70 years old today and is most definitely worthy of celebration.

I have read quite of few of her books (and Moral Disorder is on our book club schedule for February), but The Handmaid's Tale is my favorite (and one of my favorite books overall). I'm looking forward to reading the recently released The Year of the Flood.If you haven't read Atwood yet, I'd definitely recommend The Handmaid's Tale. It's definitely in line with her more recent work with its dystopian themes, but it's extremely accessible (definitely more so than Oryx and Crake).